2017 New York City ePrix II
2017 New York City ePrix I |next = 2017 Montreal ePrix I}} The 2017 New York City ePrix I, otherwise known as the 2017 Qualcomm New York City ePrix, was the tenth round of the 2016/17 FIA Formula E Championship, staged at the Brooklyn Street Circuit in Brooklyn, New York City, USA, on 16 July 2017.'From Hong Kong to New York: FIVE NEW CITIES FOR THIRD FORMULA E SEASON', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 02/07/2016), http://fiaformulae.com/en/news/2016/july/from-hong-kong-to-new-york/, (Accessed 02/07/2016) The second New York ePrix of the season was staged on the same Brooklyn Street Circuit, albeit with an extra six laps added to the lap counter. Sam Bird took charge during qualifying, demonstrating excellent consistency in the Super Pole shootout to claim pole position. Felix Rosenqvist shared the front row with the Brit, and had the advantage of the inside run to turn one, while Jean-Éric Vergne and Pierre Gasly shared row two. At the start it was advantage Rosenqvist, for the Swede sprinted past Bird and claimed the lead into turn one, a move mirrored by teammate Heidfeld against Vergne.'Bird flies high with New York double', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 16/07/2017), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2017/july/bird-flies-high-with-new-york-double/, (Accessed 17/07/2017) The rest of the field ploughed into the first corner in their wake, with almost everyone taking a knock or two as the entire field made their way through the tight hairpin. The rest of the opening phases saw some more contact in the slower sections of the track, as Vergne and Maro Engel were forced to stop early on with bodywork damage. The former's disappearance allowed the top three to disappear from the rest of the field, while Gasly tried to keep with them for the time being. As they checked out the rest of the field got caught behind a slow Oliver Turvey, whose strategy relied entirely on staying out longer than anyone else. That would lead to some more contact at the back of the field, with completely misjudging a move on Adam Carroll to litter more of the circuit with debris. As the stops loomed Alex Lynn ground to a halt, causing a Full Course Yellow and throwing the field into the pits. Bird stayed out a lap longer, gambling on the FCY lasting for more than two laps, having just stolen the lead from Rosenqvist with an excellent dive on the brakes before teammate Lynn ground to a stop. The Brit's gamble duly paid off, meaning he retained his lead, albeit with a little reduction in size. Vergne and , meanwhile, lost out as they stopped just as the FCY was withdrawn, while Robin Frijns became a non-factor when his optimistic strategy, being the only man not to stop under the FCY backfired. Bird, meanwhile, steadily managed to pull clear out front, leaving Rosenqvist and Heidfeld to work their way clear of the charging Gasly. Ultimately, Bird would remain unchallenged to the flag, meaning he became the second driver to claim a double victory at a double header, holding a huge eleven second lead as the chequered flag appeared. Rosenqvist and Heidfeld briefly swapped places to see if the latter could challenge, but swapped round before the flag, although a double podium was more than satisfying for Mahindra Racing. Fastest lap, meanwhile, was set by Daniel Abt after he hit trouble with his first car. Background The double header in New York was originally set to be the season finale for the 2016/17 Championship, staged two weeks after the series first visit to Canada.'FIA RELEASES REVISED SEASON THREE CALENDAR: DATE SWAP FOR NEW YORK CITY AND MONTREAL', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 28/09/2016), http://fiaformulae.com/en/news/2016/september/fia-releases-revised-season-three-formula-e-calendar/, (Accessed 28/09/2016) However, logistical concerns meant that the two events were swapped, Montreal serving as the finale while New York became the penultimate host of the season. The circuit itself went through several different designs before the FIA settled on one, which centred on the Red Hook neighbourhood of Brooklyn, right on the harbour front.'Formula E:Calendar - Brooklyn Circuit', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 2017), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/calendar, (Accessed 22/05/2017) It was later confirmed that the race would run six laps longer than the first New York ePrix, an attempt to make the race more tactically based. In terms of the Championship it had not been the best day for Lucas di Grassi on Saturday, although his fourth place finish was enough to get the Brazilian within twenty points of absent Championship leader . A win would see di Grassi overhaul the Swiss racer on Sunday, although the Brazilian was still in the hunt even if he failed to score. Third placed Felix Rosenqvist, meanwhile, had effectively seen his chance at the title destroyed by his spin in the race, although the Swede could still take the crown if he won the remaining three rounds. As for the Teams' Championship, the late race failure for Daniel Abt meant that ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport could only trim a small amount off the gap to Renault e.Dams, meaning the French outfit remained with a healthy 56 point lead. Mahindra Racing, meanwhile, had drifted out of the fight with their double drama in the closing stages, meaning they were suddenly back in a fight with DS Virgin Racing for third. Elsewhere, Techeetah had cemented their fifth position after a double podium, while Dragon Racing had leapt up to seventh in the four way fight to avoid the wooden spoon. FanBoost for the second ePrix of the weekend opened on Saturday evening, and would remain open until the opening stages of the race.'FanBoost opens for second NYC ePrix', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 17/07/2017), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2017/july/fanboost-opens-for-second-nyc-eprix/, (Accessed 17/07/2017) Entry List The full entry list for the is displayed below: Practice FP1 FP2 Qualifying There would be no changes to the qualifying format for the second New York ePrix of the weekend, as four groups of five cars hit the warming Brooklyn circuit.'Race winner Bird draws Gp1 for Race 2 qualifying', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 16/07/2017), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2017/july/race-winner-bird-draws-gp1-for-race-2-qualifying/, (Accessed 16/07/2017) Each group would have six minutes on circuit, allowing each of the five combatants to set one full power (200kw) lap to try and qualify for the Super Pole shootout. After the group phase the top five fastest drivers overall would go through, each getting a single shot on an empty circuit to try and claim pole position. Group 1 Saturday race winner Sam Bird would headline the first group on Sunday morning, with the Brit favourite to get through to Super Pole after setting a new lap record in FP1. Nicolas Prost would have the equipment to get through but lacked confidence, while Nelson Piquet Jr. was upbeat despite lacking pace. would hope to challenge for the top ten, while Robin Frijns went into battle knowing he would suffer a ten place grid penalty after heavy accident in practice. Bird did not disappoint in the first group, as the Brit flew around Brooklyn to claim a 1:02.246, just a fraction slower than his circuit record set earlier in the morning.'Bird beats Rosenqvist to NYC pole', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 16/07/2017), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2017/july/bird-beats-rosenqvist-to-nyc-pole/, (Accessed 16/07/2017) His effort was the last of those to be set, although in truth the rest of the group failed to get close to his effort, regardless of when they set their time. Frijns was closest ahead of Prost and Piquet, while Duval had his effort ruined when his Dragon lost second gear. Group 2 Felix Rosenqvist was the main man in the second quintet of the morning, the Swede hoping that he could make the Super Pole grade after a strong recovery run on Saturday. As for the rest of the group Daniel Abt had the hopes of Germany on his shoulders for ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport, Oliver Turvey hoped to impress again for NextEV NIO, while hoped to beat his hampered teammate in the second Andretti. would also head out as the fifth member of the quintet for Dragon Racing. It was da Costa who led the second group onto the circuit, although the Portuguese racer failed to impress with his early run. Turvey, meanwhile, quietly went about things to go second fastest and an outside chance of getting to Super Pole, until Rosenqvist charged across the line to go fastest overall with a 1:02.164. Abt followed the Swede across the line but missed the mark, while d'Ambrosio fell behind Turvey in the overall order. Group 3 Title pretender Lucas di Grassi was the standout name from the third group, the Brazilian really needing a strong quali-result if he was to overhaul title rival . Buemi's stand-in Pierre Gasly would also be in action, having improved his pace in practice, while Jean-Éric Vergne had the sister Renault Z.E. 16 in the colours of Techeetah. The other Techeetah effort in the hands of would also go to battle in the group, as would the first Jaguar of Mitch Evans. Title pretending di Grassi would make a mess of his lap in the group stages, clipping the wall and hence damaging his rear suspension towards the end of his poor attempt. Sarrazin was another to tag the wall, albeit at the end of his lap, while Evans just fell shy of a temporary Super Pole slot for Jaguar. That was, until Gasly flashed across the line to claim the fastest time overall, a stunning effort at 1:02.080, moments before Vergne booked a Super Pole slot with a 1:02.204. Group 4 The final quintet of the morning would see Alex Lynn, pole sitter from Saturday, attempt to become the first man to claim pole at two successive races on the same weekend, and had been strong in the early practice session. Another potential Super Pole runner would be found in the second of the Mahindra with Nick Heidfeld at the wheel. As for the others in the quintet the two Venturis of Maro Engel and Tom Dillmann hoped to sneak into the top ten, as did Adam Carroll in the second Jaguar. Saturday pole sitter Lynn failed to match his efforts from Saturday with a scruffy attempt, missing apexes at crucial points on his way to fifteenth on the grid. Dillmann and Engel ran together and enjoyed better luck, the latter just sneaking into a Super Pole slot, only to lose out when Heidfeld flashed across the line to go fifth fastest overall, a 1:02.372. Carroll, meanwhile, quietly went along to record the slowest time of the morning. Super Pole Having just got into the Super Pole shootout it was Heidfeld who got things underway, although the German made a mess of his attempt to claim an almost certain fifth place. Bird went next and was ultra clean, almost matching his earlier time with a 1:02.285. This effort was made all the more impressive when Vergne headed out onto the circuit, but could only manage a 1:02.544 after a huge lock-up into the hairpin. Rsoenqvist hit the circuit next, although his impressive effort, which saw the Mahindra on the very edge of adhesion throughout. Unfortunately for him the Swede fell shy of the Brit by less than half a tenth, having rubbed the wall on more than one occasion, most notably at the trickly turn two-three chicane. Finally it was the ultra-fast Gasly's turn to attempt a lap, but a mistake at the first corner ruined his effort, meaning he had to fight just to edge out Heidfeld come the end of his final attempt. Post Qualifying The final qualifying results for the are outlined below: ** Frijns handed a ten place grid penalty for changing a gearbox. *† Piquet handed a ten place penalty for post-practice changes. Race Come Sunday afternoon there was a rather weird situation regarding the air and track temperatures, with the track temperature below that of the air temperature.ABB Formula E, 'Formula E Full Race Show: 2017 Qualcomm Formula E New York City ePrix - Sunday', youtube.com, (YouTube: ABB FIA Formula E Championship, 16/07/2017), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XHF23mt2yo, (Accessed 23/05/2018) Indeed, with the air temp hovering around 29°C, and the track sitting around 28°C, most of the worries were about the battery temperature, rather than overheating the tyres. That would be a benefit to the drivers given that they would have to cover an extra six laps compared to Saturday, although the extra energy they would need to conserve further added to the cooling concerns. Report For the second race in succession it was the man who started from second who emerged with the lead into turn one, as Felix Rosenqvist dragged straight past Sam Bird into turn one. The Brit tried hard to hold the lead around the outside but ultimately had to concede, with Nick Heidfeld getting into fourth around the outside of Pierre Gasly. The German would tag the back of Jean-Éric Vergne as he did so, breaking part of the Techeetah's rear bodywork, while behind Tom Dillmann went steaming into the first corner to cause a lot of minor contact. The rest of the opening lap (and a half) would be spent sorting out the events of the first corner, with Vergne shown a mechanical flag at the end of the lap for damaged bodywork. Elsewhere, Dillmann would harass teammate Maro Engel into turn one, while Daniel Abt came to a halt on the exit of the same corner with a mechanical issue. He would get away as the leaders came to complete the first lap, although he had to limp back into the pits and switch to his second car. By the end of the first classified lap it was Rosenqvist leading from Bird, while Heidfeld would go into third when Vergne stopped at the end of the second tour. Gasly was next, just managing to fend off Engel after running wide into the turn one hairpin, with the two Dragons trying to fight with , Dillmann and Oliver Turvey. Lucas di Grassi was also in that fight along with Nicolas Prost, while Nelson Piquet Jr. had made some solid progress from last on the grid. The early stages of the race would see the Mahindras and Bird pull clear of the rest of the field, although Gasly was able to keep pace a couple of seconds behind. Elsewhere, Prost went darting past Mitch Evans on the exit of turn three to climb into the top ten, while Engel had suddenly picked up rear-bodywork damage on the third lap. Elsewhere, Turvey was having to defend heavily from Dillmann, while di Grassi picked his way past the two Dragons to get onto the back of the Frenchman's Venturi. Indeed, the fight for fifth between Engel, Turvey, Dillmann and di Grassi would draw the eye for most of the opening laps, with first Turvey, and then Dillmann, having to defend heavily at the hairpins. The order was then thrown into chaos when Engel hit the wall at turn seven, breaking his steering and therefore allowing Turvey to dive past into turn one. Dillmann rather roughly elbowed his way through on the exit, while di Grassi shot past the wounded Venturi into turn two, prompting Engel to pit at the end of lap six. One lap later, however, and Evans was about to cause a Full Course Yellow by coming to a stop at turn five, the Kiwi having suffered a transmission failure after locking up into the left hander. After a couple of laps it was decided that the Jaguar had to be recovered, with the FCY thrown just as Bird, Rosenqvist and Heidfeld started lap nine, resulting in a near pile-up as the German reacted very late to the other two hitting the brakes. Gasly, meanwhile, would show his inexperience by hitting the limiter earlier than anyone else, losing time to the leaders, and slipped to over six seconds behind when the race restarted at the start of lap ten. At the restart Rosenqvist would have to defend heavily from Bird into turn six, although the Brit was just testing the water ahead of a full assault on the next lap. Indeed, Bird would seize the inside line into turn six at the start of lap eleven, grabbing the lead as Rosenqvist slid out wide on the dust. Heidfeld almost followed the DS Virgin through but had to check-up before hitting his teammate, before abandoning his run on the Swede into the narrow turn seven. As Bird took command of the race at the front, his compatriot Turvey was steadily losing control of his race, with the Brit having to conserve like mad just to make it to the pit-window. Indeed, Turvey was driving so defensively and conservatively that di Grassi was able to pass Dillmann into turn one, before lunging past the NextEV NIO with an identical move into turn one next time by. Dillmann would then go through into turn two, while Prost had to wait to make his own dive into turn one on lap seventeen, although Turvey was able to keep the Frenchman at bay until they entered turn two. The Turvey train was growing all the time as the pitstops approached, with diving past da Costa out of turn six as they came onto the back of the NIO. At the back of the train, meanwhile, Adam Carroll would have a huge moment through turn ten, drifting wider and wider before getting his Jaguar under control, allowing Vergne to make a move into turn one. Up ahead, Stéphane Sarrazin would lunge past the NIO into turn two for ninth, while Loïc Duval drove around the outside of da Costa at turn six, just as Lynn rolled to a stop on the exit. With Lynn stuck at the side of the circuit, the stewards had no choice but to throw a FCY once again, although this time it was within touching distance of the pitwindow. It was therefore no surprise to see Rosenqvist and Heidfeld lead the majority of the field into the pits at the end of lap 22, while Bird, Sarrazin and Vergne came in on lap 23. Bird timed his stop beautifully to rejoin just ahead of Rosenqvist, just making out of the pits as the track went back to green. For Sarrazin and Vergne, the decision to stop on lap 23 proved disastrous, for they were still in the pits when the race resumed. They duly tumbled to the back of the field, while Robin Frijns gambled by not stopping at all, having three laps worth of energy to spend before making his stop. Unfortunately for him, his Andretti simply lacked pace behind Gasly, and so he duly dropped to the back of the field when he finally stopped on lap 27. Elsewhere, Duval went charging past Turvey into turn one on lap 26, before joining the attack teammate d'Ambrosio was making on da Costa after the Portuguese jumped ahead at the stops. Unfortunately for him, da Costa's Andretti was making it incredibly difficult for his Dragon, leaving d'Ambrosio to throw a late lunge to the inside of da Costa into turn two. However, in an exact copy of Rosenqvist's accident from Saturday, the Belgian would go spinning into the barriers on the outside, rejoining the circuit behind teammate Duval, although miraculously without bodywork damage. The two Dragons would then conduct their own civil war, again, in the mirrors of da Costa, until Duval went on the offensive with a dive around the outside of the Andretti into turn one. The pair almost touched before the now unstable da Costa went for a spin on his own, allowing d'Ambrosio to slip through before the Portuguese racer recovered. The Andretti was now on the warpath with Sarrazin, Carroll and Vergne closing in, although their impending clash would be overshadowed by a change out front. Indeed, it seemed as if Rosenqvist was having some re-gen issues, for teammate Heidfeld went charging past without resistance with thirteen laps to go. Rosenqvist was being told to save before the indicator went off in his cockpit, with the #19 Mahindra coasting a lot more than it had done before. This was in part due to their decision to stop at the end of lap 22, meaning he would have to cover 26 laps of the circuit before the chequered flag. Into the closing stages and Frijns was making good headway with his energy advantage, blasting past Turvey as he chased after the fight between da Costa, the Dragons and the Techeetahs. Indeed, with just five laps to go da Costa threw his Andretti up the inside of Duval into turn one, with the Frenchman squeezing him towards the inside wall. Unsurprisingly there was contact, with the nose of da Costa tipping Duval into a spin on the apex, resulting in the Frenchman dropping to twelfth while da Costa was slapped with a drive-through penalty. Heading into the penultimate lap and Rosenqvist was waved back through by Heidfeld, for the German was having to conserve energy at an alarming rate. That allowed Gasly to close right onto the back of them heading into the final lap as, out front, Bird cruised home to collect a historic second victory. Behind Rosenqvist limped home in second, while Gasly went into the outside wall of turn five trying to pass Heidfeld, with the German just getting home with 1% energy ahead of the Frenchman. Gasly duly went slamming into the opposite wall as he crossed the line with smashed front suspension, but was classified in fourth. Behind there would be huge shuffle at the lower end of the top ten, with drivers suddenly having to conserve as they came towards the finish line. That allowed Vergne to leap up into eighth from tenth, while Frijns shot up from twelfth to ninth, passing d'Ambrosio, Duval and da Costa as they all ran out of energy. In between them and the leaders came di Grassi, Prost and Dillmann, while, at the back of the field Abt would claim fastest lap after his first lap failure. Result The final classification of the is displayed below, with the fastest lap setter indicated in italics, and the pole sitter shown in bold. * Indicates a driver was awarded FanBoost during the race. Milestones * Second New York City ePrix. ** Fifth ePrix to be staged in the United States of America. * Fourth pole position for Sam Bird. * Fifth pole set by as DS Virgin Racing entry. * Bird claimed his fifth career victory. ** The Brit was only the second driver to claim victory in both races at an FE event. * Fifth victory for Virgin Racing as an entrant. ** Third victory for DS as a powertrain manufacturer. * Daniel Abt claimed his second fastest lap. Standings Incredibly, despite not turning a wheel in New York, it was still Sébastien Buemi who led the title charge, although Lucas di Grassi had managed to get within striking distance, ten points back. Felix Rosenqvist was still in the hunt, although he would need both of the leading pair to hit trouble in both of the races in Montreal. Sam Bird was the only other man in mathematical contention, although he, like Rosenqvist, would need a dramatic conclusion in Canada to see his name on the FE role of honour. ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport managed to fall further behind Team Championship leaders Renault e.Dams, who could now win the title in the first ePrix in Montreal. The French squad now held a 65 point advantage, and with 94 still in play the German effort could not be ruled out, although it would take a complete collapse from the double Champions to see them fail to claim a third title. Mahindra Racing and DS Virgin Racing, meanwhile, were sweeping in to challenge the German effort for second, with the former only twelve points behind and looking the stronger of the trio. Only point scoring drivers and teams are shown. References Videos and Images: * References: Category:New York ePrix Category:2016/17 ePrix